Worship as Warfare

Worship as Warfare

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

When we think of worship, we generally think of a gentle, tender, intimate time for us to connect with the Lord on a personal level. Much of worship music reflects this idea - slow ballads that speak of our relationship with the Lord and his love for us. The intimacy in this worship brings peace and rest, and often helps us refocus on heaven’s perspective in the midst of our busy lives.

But there is another type of worship that we are invited to. When we worship, we place our focus on the Lord, and we set our minds on the majesty and greatness of who he is, and what he wants to accomplish in and through us. The lyrics of these songs focus very little on “us” or “me”, but focus our attention on who God is - a mighty, victorious king who has conquered sin and death, and who is establishing his kingdom on earth. We are invited to participate in this process. But to do so, we need to take a different posture than the one we take for intimate, personal worship. This is warfare. In the spiritual realm, we align ourselves with heaven’s truth and we proclaim that truth into our reality. This is not the time for timidity, but the time for courage, boldness, and audacity.

We know that the battles we fight are not of this world - we’re fighting principalities and powers in the spiritual realm, and hell trembles when we step into our God-given authority as children of the king. When we realize the power that we wield through the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to tear down the strongholds that we see in this world - to right injustices around us and establish the dominion of our king.
The Lord wants to partner with you! He wants your mind, will, and emotions engaged in this passionate, world-changing worship. You’ve been supernaturally reforged into a prince or princess of the Kingdom, and with that comes authority from the king himself. When Jesus spoke to his followers, he didn’t tell them, “Pray to me to heal the sick,” or “Pray that God will cast demons out.” He gave them authority and commanded them, “Heal the sick. Cast out demons.” (Matthew 10:8). Often we come into corporate worship overwhelmed or distracted by our thoughts, but we need to realize that we are entering the presence of our king, a conqueror of chaos and the silencer of storms.

This type of worship is not a passive thing. We are very much involved in the process of bringing heaven to Earth. There is no better way to do this than to link arms with fellow believers and stir each other’s faith in corporate worship. We lock shields together against the plans of the enemy, and we advance the kingdom forward, together!

Prayer

Lord, you are a mighty God! You are king of kings, and heaven and earth bow to your holy name. Thank you for the authority you’ve given me to fight against spiritual forces of evil. Because I bear your name, I can expect victory in every area. I ask that you give me heaven’s perspective, and let me see areas that I can bring your kingdom to earth. Amen.